Charity’s support helps new parents

A new CD called 'Coping With Crying' is being given out by Community Midwives for new parents within the first few days of them going home after the birth of their baby. Produced with the NSPCC, Jane Scott Project Co-ordinator is pictured with Tanya Mason from Northumberland area. GM039070

New parents in south east Northumberland are set to benefit from a support initiative.

‘Coping with Crying’ is pilot programme that aims to support new parents with the stress they can feel when their baby cries.

It involves showing them a powerful new film about caring for a crying baby.

The pilot, which is taking place in Northumberland, will see community midwives from Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust showing the film on home visits.

Janice McNichol, head of midwifery at the trust, said: “We fully understand that caring for a new-born baby can be extremely stressful – particularly for new parents – and we are committed to providing the highest quality support to mums and their partners.

“Our community midwives are parents’ first port of call following the birth and offer expert advice on how best to care for their baby.

“We are always looking at research and finding new ways of helping to safeguard our most vulnerable patients and have been using the NSPCC’s ‘Handle with Care’ leaflet for more than a year.

“We are delighted to work in partnership with them on this and provide an additional resource to help parents cope with a crying baby while raising awareness of the potential risks of these situations.”

The programme will be evaluated to find out when mums and dads are most receptive to the film’s messages and where they can have most impact.